Duchy of Milan

The Duchy of Milan (1395-1797) was one of the Italian States, formerly a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. It was ruled by Ludovico Sforza in its early stages and fought against the Kingdom of France in the Italian Wars from 1499 to 1521. It gained its independence from France in 1521 and allied with the Austrian Empire in the Italian Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars, and was occupied again by France in 1797.